JTB AND FIRS
The JTB is an umbrella body for all State Boards of Internal Revenue Service and the FIRS. Some revenue bodies like the Federal Road Safety Commission are co-opted as members. At the recent JTB meeting in Kano, the need to co-opt the Nigeria Customs Service-a key revenue agency of government, was raised and also approved.
The JTB introduced the Unique Taxpayer Identification Number TIN, it did extensive work on presumptive tax and sought ways to stem multiplicity of taxes. TIN will ease data sharing and tracking of taxpayers among states. Today, JTB is tweaking TIN to ensure that it is data-laden and meets the intended objective of its introduction.
Under Section 8 (q) of the Federal Inland Revenue Establishment Act 2007, every taxpayer is expected to be issued a TIN in collaboration with State Boards of Internal Revenue and Local Government Councils.
In 2007, FIRS gained financial and administrative autonomy when the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007 was passed into law by the National Assembly.
Some of the changes that occurred in the tax system since then include collaboration with stakeholders to produce the National Tax Policy, financial and administrative autonomy, dispute resolution mechanism with the introduction of the Tax Appeal Tribunal by the Ministry of Finance and refund mechanism for taxpayers.
Other changes include:
· Electronic payment initiatives such as e-tax pay, Pay Direct, Remitta to enable taxpayers pay taxes anytime at the comfort and convenience of their offices or home;
· Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) has rolled out in key offices in Lagos and Abuja. Key corporates are e-filing their tax returns without intervention by FIRS officials. ITAS will automate risk-profiling, taxpayer education, calculation of arrears, interests and penalties and enhance revenue, thus limiting human intervention, as much as possible, in tax administration thereby engendering transparency.
GIFMIS: FIRS is collaborating with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to collect Value Added Tax, VAT and Withholding Tax WHT from government contractors/suppliers at the point of payment, through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (GIFMIS).
· VAT Auto-Collect is an initiative to ensure that tax is deducted, automatically at source, on transactions that are liable to VAT. This is currently being implemented in the aviation sector. Other sectors like telecoms, e-commerce and power utilities are scheduled to come on board soon.
Tax is not just about collection of revenue. Tax, a compulsory levy imposed by government on citizens, is also an income redistribution tool. It is used to streamline consumption and to promote investment. It stokes citizens’ interest in accountability and transparency and compels citizens to hold governments accountable. Since tax is money from peoples’ pocket, it follows that people are interested in what government does with their money.
CURRENT STRIDES
FIRS has a target of N4.957 trillion in 2016. It is a tough target. But we are committed to achieve this through the following strategies in addition to the ones stated above:
· Collaboration with agencies of federal and state governments on taxpayer education, data sharing and joint audit.
· FEETT: (Federal Engagement and Enlightenment Tax Teams) is engaging, educating and registering new taxpayers. We are on the streets telling taxpayers what they are to do. The FIRS is also running campaigns in English, Pidgin English and three Nigerian languages: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
· Additional taxpayers: We have added over 700,000 new taxpayers to the FIRS database within the last 9 months.
· Fast track Audit: We are fast tracking audit of several oil and gas related companies and other key sectors of the economy and collaborating with consultants and accountants for data gathering.
· Enforcement: We are empowered by law to enforce payment of taxes, where other compliance tools have failed to yield the desired results. We do enforce payment of taxes on big but recalcitrant taxpayers and known names as you would have noticed in the last two months.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN THE MIX?
The media has been one of the major stakeholders and partners of the FIRS. The media has demonstrated understanding in reporting FIRS’ progress and tax issues in general. I will not say the media has been generous, but the media it has been understanding. For this, the FIRS is grateful. The media: (print, TV, radio and online), has played pivotal roles in taxpayer education and enlightenment, law amendment and judicial process and enforcement.
FIRS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDIA
We believe tax collection is about nation building because the taxes that we collect enable politicians to realize the lofty promises at elections. Tax also promotes socio-economic order. Without sustainable revenue, the whole business of nation building and social engineering, growth and development is wishful thinking.
The FIRS wants the media to understand what the Service is doing. This has informed the FIRS Communication approach comprising, among others:
· Periodic public communication by the FIRS Executive Chairman -the Chief Spokesperson of the Organisation. He speaks at key public events. It is not an accident. Such public engagements are key communication windows;
· Establishment of Communication and Taxpayer Education Departments;
· Open access to journalists including media interviews, press releases and response to media enquiries;
· Posting of FIRS collection, laws, processes and Frequently Asked Questions, (FAQs) and information on the FIRS website: www.firs.gov.ng. We are beginning to embrace social media (Twitter Youtube, Instagram, facebook)
· Publication of the Gauge —FIRS quarterly magazine;
· Hosting of TV/Radio programmes on FIRS programmes and activities
· Stakeholder engagement events (conferences, seminars, workshops)
Leave a Reply